cat <<-EOF
        To: $recipients
        Subject: ${emailprefix}$projectdesc $refname_type $short_refname ${change_type}d. $describe
+       MIME-Version: 1.0
+       Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
+       Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
        X-Git-Refname: $refname
        X-Git-Reftype: $refname_type
        X-Git-Oldrev: $oldrev
        echo "       was  $oldrev"
        echo ""
        echo $LOGBEGIN
-       git show -s --pretty=oneline $oldrev
+       git diff-tree -s --always --encoding=UTF-8 --pretty=oneline $oldrev
        echo $LOGEND
 }
 
                # performed on them
                if [ -n "$prevtag" ]; then
                        # Show changes since the previous release
-                       git rev-list --pretty=short "$prevtag..$newrev" | git shortlog
+                       git shortlog "$prevtag..$newrev"
                else
                        # No previous tag, show all the changes since time
                        # began
-                       git rev-list --pretty=short $newrev | git shortlog
+                       git shortlog $newrev
                fi
                ;;
        *)
        echo "       was  $oldrev"
        echo ""
        echo $LOGBEGIN
-       git show -s --pretty=oneline $oldrev
+       git diff-tree -s --always --encoding=UTF-8 --pretty=oneline $oldrev
        echo $LOGEND
 }
 
        echo ""
        if [ "$newrev_type" = "commit" ]; then
                echo $LOGBEGIN
-               git show --no-color --root -s --pretty=medium $newrev
+               git diff-tree -s --always --encoding=UTF-8 --pretty=medium $newrev
                echo $LOGEND
        else
                # What can we do here?  The tag marks an object that is not
        echo "       was  $oldrev"
        echo ""
        echo $LOGBEGIN
-       git show -s --pretty=oneline $oldrev
+       git diff-tree -s --always --encoding=UTF-8 --pretty=oneline $oldrev
        echo $LOGEND
 }